Apparatus for preparing shoes for a lasting operation

ABSTRACT

Mechanism and method for successively conditioning shoe uppers preceding their lasting. A conveyorized series of shoe carriers is moved stepwise through a shoe loading zone, a plurality of cabinets providing controlled non-drying, heated atmosphere, and a shoe unloading zone adjacent to a lasting machine, each shoe carrier pivotally supporting a last in a manner such that the weight of the last effects lengthwise pretensioning of an upper thereon to be lasted in the machine.

1111 7 3,7 0,445 14 1 Sept. 25, 1973 3,533,117 10/1970 Dinolfoeta1.........................

[ APPARATUS FOR PREPARING SHOES FOR A LASTING OPERATION 11/1970 Horak et [75] Inventors; Peter'L. Stapleton; George Millar;

g i l g l i fi Barton Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson o ewes ng an AttorneyCarl E. Johnson et a1. Assignee: USM Corporation, Boston, Mass.

[22] Filed: Dec. 1, 1972 ABSTRACT successively conditioning shoe uppers preceding their lasting. A conveyorized se- [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mechanism and method for ries of shoe carriers is moved stepwise through a shoe loading zone, a plurality of cabinets providing controlled non-drying, heated atmosphere, and a shoe unloading zone adjacent to a lasting machine, each shoe carrier pivotally supporting a last in a manner such that the weight of the last effects lengthwise pretensioning of an upper thereon to be lasted in the machine.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,237,227 3/1966 Broinfield.....................-........ 12/1 A 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUSEPZSISH v v 3 750 445 SHEEI 1 0F 6 PMENTED SEPZSISN mm s 1 6 II I ll ll J II I I i v III II PATENTED SEP25 I973 SHEET 5 Uf 6 APPARATUS FOR PREPARING snoEs FOR A LAsT No OPERATION BACKGROUND Fv THE lNVENTlON This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to the preparation of'shoe uppers for a'lasting operation. The word shoe" is used herein generically to indicate outer footwear generally whether complete or in the course of manufacture. I In the manufacture of shoes, material used for the uppers must be brought into a pliable condition in which it can be conformed to the shape of a last in a lasting machine without the material splitting under the strains applied during, for instance, the operation of a toe and forepart pulling and lasting machine. Even if the upper material did not actually split, lack of pretreatment to ensurepliability would probably result in the upper material tending to return to its original or a distorted shape when the last was slipped from the shoe. Heat applied to the upper material will in many cases bring about the pliability required but in the case of moisture containing upper material, such as leather, the application of heat alone may result in the material cracking through drying out. it is therefore desirable to prevent this drying-out by treating the upper material in a heated atmosphere to which moisture has been added, conveniently by the injection of steam into the atmosphere'to which the upper material is subjected.

When anupper assembled upon a last with an insole is presented to a toe and forepart lasting machine, for example, the upper is pulled toewardly of the last about which it is draped and is also pulled widthwise of the last to ensure conformity with the curves of the last contours. It has been customary for an operator to give the upper a preliminary toeward draft on a bench pincer before presenting-the last and upper to the lasting machine, and indeed many operators who do not use a bench pincer, still impart an initial tension to the upper lengthwise of the last by feeding a toe end portion of the upper to toe grippers of the machine, drafting the upper and then feeding marginal portions of the forepart of the upper to the side grippers.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus whereby uppers may conveniently be subjected to an atmosphere wherein to be rendered pliable readily to conform to last contours and whereby a preliminary toeward draft may be imparted to the upper prior to presentation for operation thereupon by a lasting machine.

The present invention provides, in accordance with one of its several features, apparatus suitable for use in the preparation of a shoe upper for a lasting operation comprising a series of shoe carriers mounted on a conveyor, each carrier comprising a pincer mechanism and a support member, and means for establishing a heated conditioning atmosphere through which the conveyor conveys the shoe carriers, each carrier supporting a last with an upper positioned thereon with marginal portions of a toe end portion of the upper gripped by the [pincer mechanism, and the last supported on the support member so that the weight of the last acts to apply tension to the upper gripped by the pincer mechanism. Preferably a last is arranged on the shoe carrier so that a toe end portion of the last bottom rests upon the support member and the mainweight of the last exerting upper tensioning is heelward of the region of contact between the last bottom and the support member. Conveniently the upper conditioning means through which the conveyor moves the shoe carriers comprises a heated air flow established within a cabinet arrangement and the cabinet arrangement is provided with a supply of steam to render the heated atmosphere nondrying.

As herein illustrated the conveyor is a driven endless conveyor and means are provided for advancing the shoe carriers in a stepwise manner, halting at each of a plurality of stations between advancing movements. It is convenient to provide at several of the stations facility for loading shoes onto the respective carriers previous to their entering the heated atmosphere of the cabinet arrangement, in order to ensure an adequately available supply of shoes to a later station at which facility is provided for unloading pre-conditioned shoes from the carriers after they have emerged from the heated atmosphere.

The present invention further provides, in accordance with another of its several features, a method of preparing a shoe upper for a lasting operation in which a shoe upper is first loosely positioned about a last, marginal portions of a toe end portion of the upper are gripped by a pincer arrangement while the last is supported on a support member so that the weight of the last acts to apply tension to the upper gripped by the pincer arrangement, and the shoe upper and last so supported are conveyed through a controlled atmosphere which renders the upper into a suitable condition for a lasting operation.

The illustrative apparatus comprises an endless conveyor arranged to provide an upper, advancing run and a lower return run and having a plurality of shoe carriers arranged at short intervals along the conveyor so as to be in an upright position to receive shoes supported thereon when the'carriers travel along the upper run and in an inverted position when they are on the return run. Spanning an intermediate section of both runs is a series of cabinets within which there are provided means for establishing a heated atmosphere. A loading section through which the upper run of the conveyor passes is provided with facility for loading up to six shoes on carriers halted at six loading stations along the loading section of the conveyor. Advancing the conveyor in a stepwise manner causes these carriers to progress through the cabinets, each carrier halting at the position vacated by its predecessor, and to emerge singly at an unloading section of the apparatus at which there is provided facility for removal of shoes from the carriers for transfer to the next stage in the manufacture of the shoes. The empty carriers then return in an inverted position on the lower run of the conveyor until they again reach the loading section of the illustrative apparatus.

The carriers of the illustrative apparatus each comprise a pincer arrangement and a support member, marginal portions of the toe end portion of an upper being held in the pincer arrangement while the toe end portion of the bottom of a last about which the upper is positioned is supported on the support member in a manner of a bench pincer. The illustrative apparatus is suitable for use in conjunction with different makes and types of lasting machines according to the requirements of the factory production line for the manufacture of shoes.

In the illustrative method hereinafter to be described an upper is draped in position about a last having an insole temporarily secured to the bottom surface thereof. The last, with its heel end portion positioned within the closed backpart of the upper, and, if required, the upper held in correct alignment with the backline of the last by a positioning clip, is then loaded onto a shoe carrier of the illustrative apparatus in the manner described above. During progress through the non-drying, heated atmosphere of the illustrative apparatus, the material of the upper will relax and the weight of the last will act to apply tension in the upper in a direction lengthwise of the last. Each shoe will remain within the atmosphere of the apparatus for at least one minute after which it will arrive at the unloading station from which it will be removed by the operator of, for example, a toe and forepart pulling-over and lasting machine. When the toeward draft of the machine is applied to the thoroughly heated upper, the backpart of the upper is sufficiently pliable to be pulled taut around the last and to conform to the contours thereof. Thus, not only is the toe and forepart region of the upper conformed to the last and marginal portions of the upper in that region secured to the insole, but a satisfactory degree of moulding of the backpart of the upper takes place to allow the next step in manufacture to be simply a heel seat lasting operation to turn the marginal portions of the backpart of the upper across corresponding marginal portions of the insole. Presentation of the shoe to a side lasting machine will complete the lasting operations on the shoe.

Alternatively, it may be preferred to perform a backpart moulding and heel seat lasting operation upon the upper before the last/upper assembly is presented to the illustrative apparatus. In this case, the backpart of the upper is pre-heated to render the material of the upper into a pliable condition and a counter assembled therewith sufficiently flaccid to conform to the contours of the backpart of the last in the backpart moulding operation, marginal portions of the backpart of the upper being then turned inwardly across corresponding portions of the insole and secured thereto by the heel seat lasting operation. The last with the partially lasted upper positioned upon it is then presented to the illustrative apparatus as before.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The following description of the illustrative apparatus together with its use in the illustrative method is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, and is given by way of example only and not by way of limitation of the scope of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the illustrative apparatus comprising shoe conveyor mechanism and conditioning cabinets;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one of the shoe carriers shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a shoe carrier having a last and upper in a loaded position;

FIG. 4 is a view showing conveyor drive mechanism of the illustrative apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a side view, with parts broken away to reveal details of construction, of one of the cabinets assembled as indicated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 shows a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the cabinet depicted in FIG. 5, and on an enlarged scale.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The illustrative apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises an endless conveyor, indicated at 2, having an upper, advancing run 3 and a lower return run 5. Shoe carriers 4 are provided at intervals along the conveyor. The upper run of the conveyor comprises three sections. One section is a loading section A, at which lasts with uppers and insoles positioned thereon may be loaded onto empty shoe carriers 4, there being a carrier 4 at each of preferably six loading stations comprising the loading section A, each time the conveyor halts after being advanced in a stepwise manner by drive means indicated at 12 (FIGS. 1, 4) and later to be described in detail. An intermediate section B is spanned by a series of preferably three cabinets 6 which span both runs of the conveyor and within which a heated, substantially non-drying atmosphere is established, and a fourth cabinet 7 which houses motor drive means for fan units, which circulate the heated atmosphere, and a storage tank system for the supply of water to the cabinets 6. Finally there is provided an unloading section C at which each shoe is removed from its carrier as required for the next step in its manufacture.

The conveyor 2 comprises an endless series of flat metal plates 8 (FIGS. 1, 2, 4) each attached along its longest sides by means of hinges 10 to two neighboring plates. On every fifth plate is mounted one of the shoe carriers 4, each carrier having a base portion 43 (FIGS. 2 and 3) extending across the surface area of the plate 8 upon which it is mounted, and having reduced end portions 49 which, together with the end portions of the plate 8, run in rubber-surfaced guideways 51 supported by brackets 55 as can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The conveyor is mounted at the unloading section C upon drive means 12 (FIG. 4) which is supported on two spaced, parallel frame portions 14 carried by structure of the cabinets 6, 7 of the illustrative apparatus as hereinafter described, and at the commencement of its loading section A by conveyor tensioning means 41. The latter is supported on the frame portion 14, (FIG. 1) the tensioning means 41 including an idler wheel 45 about which the conveyor plates 8 turn as they progress from the lower run to the upper run. The centre of the wheel may be adjustably positioned to ensure the required tension in the conveyor.

The drive means 12, shown in FIG. 4, is mounted on the frame portion 14 by means of a cross shaft 26. A bracket 16 secured to the frame portion 14 supports a piston-and-cylinder arrangement 18, a piston rod 20 of which is connected at a free end portion thereof to one end portion of a push-rod 22. An opposite end portion of the rod 22 is pivotally secured to an arm member 24 mounted for oscillatory pivotal movement about the cross shaft 26. Also mounted on the cross shaft 26 for rotary movement in one direction around the cross shaft 26 is a ratchet wheel 28 having two series of teeth, 30, 34, the teeth 30 being engageable by a pawl 32 mounted upon the arm member 24 and the teeth 34, which alternate with the teeth 30 around the periphery of the wheel 28, being engageable by a retaining pawl 36 pivotally mounted on the frame portion 14. Secured to the ratchet wheel 28 for movement with it on the cross shaft 26 is a driving wheel 38 having peripheral indentations 40 which engage the plates 8 of the conveyor at the hinges 10 which project sufficiently from the inner side of the plates to fit within the indentations 40 to allow driving engagement between the wheel 28 and the conveyor plates. 7

FIG. 4 shows the'arm member 24, the pawl 32 and the rod 22 in full lines in a position prior to the conveyor being advanced by one step in its progress. Retraction of the piston rod into the cylinder of the piston and cylinder arrangement 18 causes the parts to move into positions shown in chain-dotted lines thus advancing the conveyor by a distance which is exactly the distance between centre lines'of neighboring shoe carriers 4, so that each carrier is shiftable into theposition vacated by its predecessor.

A lug 25 (FIG. 4) on the arm member 24 projects outwardly beyond the frame portion and carries two stop screws 27 and 29. As the parts move to their chain-dotted lines position, the screw 27 contacts a pneumatic valve 31 mounted on the frame portion 14, to depress a plunger thereof to signal the return of the parts to their full-line position, the return action of the piston and'cylinder arrangement 18 being halted on a signal from a pneumatic valve 35 when it is abutted by the stop screw 29, and a further mechanical stop being provided by a stop screw 37 on the arm 24 abutting a stop member 33 secured to the frame portion 14. Engagement of the pawl 36 in a tooth 34 prevents any tendency for the driving wheel 38 to slip backward during the return movement.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show details of one of the shoe carriers 4 positioned at one of the six loading stations, FIG. 3 showing the manner in which the last L' is supported on the carrier. The baseportion 43 of each carrier is integral with a block 42 having an upper, bifurcated portion44 in which is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 45, 47 a two-armed lever 46. An upper arm of the lever itself comprises a bifurcated portion 48 which curves over in a direction towards the bifurcated portion 44 so that the twoportions 44, 48 are engageable with each other to form two-pronged jaws 53, engaging surfaces of which are preferably serrated. The jaws 53 comprise an upper tensioning pincer arrangement. The jaws 53 are biased into a closed position by means of a compression spring 50 (FIG. 3) positioned between a lug portion 52 of the lever 46 and the block 42. The pincer arrangement may be required to grasp uppers of uneven thickness and to compensate for this, so as to prevent one prong of the jaws 53 grasping an upper loosely compared with the grasp of the other prong and possibly allowing the upper to slip, the pivot pin 45, 47 is slightly barrel-shaped as seen in FIG. 2 to allow slight accommodation movement of the lever 46 out of a plane perpendicular to the axis of the pin 47.

Mounted on a lower arm 54 (FIGS. 2, 3) of the lever 46 for adjustable sliding movement thereon is a support or fulcrum member 56 upon which a toe end portion of the bottom of a last L is placed when marginal portions of the toe end portion of an upper U draped about the last are grasped by the jaws 53. The support member 56 may be moved along the arm 54 and held by suitable clamp means 57 in a position appropriate for the size of shoe being operated upon. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that the main weight of the last L is heelward of the region of pivotal contact between the last bottom and the support member 56 so that there is a tendency for the heel end of the last to be lowered by gravity. The last is however held in position by an end portion of the upper U being grasped in the jaws 53.

To load a last and an upper upon a shoe carrier 4 at one of the six loading stations an operator trips a switch (not shown) to operate a piston-and-cylinder device 58 (FIGS. 2, 3) mounted on a bracket 59 secured to the frame portion 14 of the apparatus. A piston rod 60 of the device 58 is thus extended from the cylinder so that a head portion 62 of the rod contacts a roller 63 mounted in a free end portion of the lower arm 54 of the lever 46 to cause the lever 46 to pivot slightly about the pin 47 against the influence of the spring 50 and thus open the jaws 53. The operator will then feed the marginal portions of the toe end of the upper between the jaws 53 while resting the last and insole on the fulcrum 56, and re-set the switch to allow the piston rod 60 to retract into its associated cylinder and the lever 46 to return to its original position thus closing the jaws 53.

There is a piston and cylinder device 58 associated with each loading station to open and close the respective pairs of jaws 53. It is necessary to avoid re-opening the jaws 53 at a carrier 4'onto which a shoe has already been loaded. It would, however, require unnecessary duplication of circuits if separate control circuits and switches were to be provided for each station, and therefore in the illustrative apparatus at each of five of the loading stations (a sixth one not requiring to be kept closed if a loading is required) there is provided a control lever 64 (FIGS. 2, 3) arranged to prevent the operation of the piston-and-cylinder device at that station if a shoe has already been loaded. The lever 64 is mounted by means of a pivot pin .70 on a block 76 which is secured to an outside surface to the guideways 51. Whenever a shoe is present at one of the five stations whether it is actually loaded at that station or has arrived from a previous station due to the movement of the conveyor, the lever 64 is pivotted counterclockwise by engagement of the shoe or last therewith about the pin from a position shown in full lines in FIG. 2 to a position shown in dotted lines so that a lower portion 72 of the lever is raised to cover an air passage 74 in the block 76. Compressed air is normally allowed to escape from the passage 74 from a circuit pressure line and obstruction of the passage causes a build-up in pressure in the passage which acts as a signal to override the switch that would normally cause the jaws to open. A torsion spring 68 mounted on the pin 70 biases the lever clockwise to a position in which an upper cam portion 66 thereof contacts the bottom of the last.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of one of the cabinets 6, three of which are assembled in series in the illustrative apparatus. These cabinets are arranged to enclose the heated atmosphere necessary to bring about the required pliability of upper materials used. In the following portion of the description, it is assumed the material beg used is one which will be harmed if allowed to dry out in a heated atmosphere and therefore requires the addition of steam to the atmosphere to render it nondrying but it will be understood that the means for providing steam hereinafter described may not necessarily be used with other upper materials. The fourth cabinet 7 has similar external dimensions to those of the cabinets 6 as can be seen from FIG. 1 but serves merely to house a ball-valve controlled water storage tank and a motor which operates recirculatory fan units 96 (FIG. 5) as hereinafter described.

In FIG. 5, a shoe carrier 4 can be seen positioned within a cabinet 6. The width of each cabinet is such as to contain two successive shoe carriers 4 at any one time when the conveyor is halted, but only one carrier is visible in the Figure. The cabinet 6 comprises a heatinsulated outer housing 80. Walls 81 of the cabinet, which are placed against similar walls of a neighboring cabinet when assembled in the illustrative apparatus, do not require to be insulated and are provided with an aperture 82 adequate to receive the conveyor 2 and the loaded shoe carriers 4. The apertures 82 on the exposed wall 81 of the cabinet 6 which is positioned at the extreme end region of the conditioning section B of the illustrative apparatus is provided with strip rubber curtains where the shoes pass through the apertures, similar to curtains 83 shown in FIG. 1 on an aperture 82' of the cabinet 7. These curtains help prevent the heated atmosphere from escaping too readily from the interior of the cabinets.

Secured to a base plate 85 of each cabinet 6 are support members 87 (one shown in FIG. which together with a bracket 89 mounted on an inner wall 91 of the cabinet provide means to support the frame portion 14 of the apparatus. A bracket 78 secured to a right hand portion of the housing 80 (as viewed in FIG. 5) so as to project from the housing at a level above the shoe carriers 4, supports a steam producing tank 84 supplied with water from the storage tank in the cabinet 7 by ducts (not shown). Heating elements 86 controlled by a thermostat device 79 produce steam which may be directed through three horizontally arranged ducts 90 (only one shown in FIG. 5) or downwardly through a duct 88 which causes the steam to impinge directly upon the forepart of the uppers if there is a special requirement for this, for example if the material of the uppers is being dried excessively despite the steam- Iaden atmosphere.

FIG. 6 shows selector means by which the steam may be directed along the ducts 90 or the duct 88. The tank 84 is provided with two parallel horizontally arranged rows of apertures 102 and 104 (only one aperture of each row being shown in FIG. 6). Blocking off the duct 88 at a level between that of the apertures 102 and that of the apertures 104 is a blocking member 106. Slidable within the duct 88 between the wall of the tank containing the apertures 102 and 104 and the blocking member 106 is a control member 110 also provided with two parallel horizontally disposed rows of apertures 112 and 114, (only one aperture of each row being shown in FIG. 6), the vertical distance between the rows of apertures 112 and 114 being greater than between the rows of apertures 102 and 104 by an amount great enough to allow either the rows of apertures 102 and 112 to be in register or the rows of apertures 104 and 114 to be in register, according to the relative heightwise position of the member 110. In FIG. 6 the rows of apertures 102 and 112 are shown in accurate register and therefore the steam from the tank 84 passes through these apertures and escapes upwardly through the ducts 90. No steam escapes through the apertures 104 since they are blanked off by the member 110 which is held firmly in place against the wall of the tank 84 by a retaining bracket 116. Raising the control member to bring the apertures 104, 114 into accurate register causes the steam to be directed downwardly through the duct 88. Deflector means (not shown) are inserted in the duct 88 which extends the width of the tank 84 and spans the two shoe carriers within the cabinet, the deflector means minimizing the amount of steam which would otherwise tend to pass downwardly between the two carriers without impinging upon the uppers.

When the control member 110 is in the position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, steam issues from the ducts in operation of the cabinet. A curved baffle plate 92 (FIG. 5) deflects the steam downwardly to travel between the housing 80 and one surface of an intermediate wall 94 extending the width of the cabinet, the steam meanwhile becoming entrained in a flow of heated air circulated within the cabinet by a fan unit 96 towards which the steam-laden air is now drawn. The air is expelled from the fan unit in an upward direction and passes between an opposite surface of the intermediate wall 94 and the inner wall 91 of the cabinet. Heating elements are provided which project from the wall 94 into the path of the steam-laden air. This air then continues to rise and envelops the shoes upon the carriers 4 as shown in FIG. 5. Continuing to rise, the air is then deflected by a baffle member 93 to meet fresh steam leaving the duct 90 and the recirculation continues, the temperature being maintained at a required level by the suitably controlled heating elements 100. According to the properties of the upper material used, the temperature required may be up to 150C.

As each shoe carrier 4 emerges from the intermediate section B according to the stepwise progression of the conveyor, it arrives at the unloading section C of the illustrative apparatus at which the shoe may be removed from the carrier. Thus, the final station of the upper run of the conveyor, as can be seen from FIG. 4, is provided with a piston and cylinder device 118 similar to the piston and cylinder devices 58 provided at each loading station and operating in the same way to open the jaws 53 of the carrier, that is, to contact the lower arm 54 of the lever 46 of the carrier with a piston rod head portion 120 corresponding to the piston rod head portion 62 ofa piston and cylinder device 58. This piston and cylinder device 118 is actuated by a manual switch, for instance operated by an operator of a toe end and forepart lasting machine arranged nearby to perform the next operation in the manufacture of the shoe, that is to complete the conforming of the shoe upper to the contours of the last in the toe and forepart regions thereof and to secure marginal portions of the upper in those regions to corresponding marginal portions of the insole.

In the illustrative method which makes use of the described apparatus an operator will assemble an insole onto the bottom surface of a last and secure it thereto by suitable means. An upper is then positioned around the last so that the heel end portion of the last fits snugly into the closed back-part of the upper, and the last/upper assembly so formed is then loaded onto a shoe carrier 4 at a loading station of the illustrative apparatus, tripping a switch to operate the piston and cylinder devices 58 at empty ones of the six loading stations to open the pairs of jaws 53.

As the conveyor progresses in a stepwise manner along its upper run 3, the shoes on the carriers arrive at the intermediate section B and enter the cabinets 6, 7. As the effects of heated air and the steam carried thereby make the uppers of the shoes become more pliable, each upper begins to be stretched in a lengthwise direction since the weight of the last causes it to partake of a slight pivotal movement about the region of contact of the toe end portion of the last bottom with the support member 56, the last moving from a position in which it is held by the upper before it enters the cabinets to a position determined by the degree of pliability imparted to the'upper.

When each shoe carrier emerges from the final cabinet 6, it is advanced by a movement of the conveyor to the unloading section C and the final station at which is provided the piston and cylinder device .118 operable to open the jaws 53 of the carrier 4. To unload the conditioned shoe from the shoe carrier 4 a further operator, who may be the operator of an adjacent toe and forepart pulling over and lasting machine, will grasp the shoe in one hand and, should he see that the material of 'theupper could beneficially have a further lengthwise stretch imparted to it before presentation to the pulling over and lasting machine, will pull it firmly in a heelward direction at the same time pushing the heel end of the last downwards so that the last moves pivotally still more about its fulcrum region of contact with the support 56 and the toe end of the last is thrust upwardly into the now pliable upper material thereby enhancing the conforming of the upper material to the contours of the toe andforepart portions of the last. The operator will then operate the switch to cause the rod head portion 120 of the piston and cylinder device 118 to be raised to open the jaws 53 and release the upper. 1 I

Marginal portions of the now partially shaped forepart of the upper are now fed into open gripper jaws of the pulling over and lastingmachine and the machine then performs its cycle of operations. It will be understood that the rate of stepwise progress of the conveyor must be appropriate to the requirements of the toe and forepart pulling over and lasting machine and therefore it is the operator of this machine who normally signals 'the operation of the piston and cylinder device 18 is complete and therefore it is arranged that the conveyor cannot be advanced until the switch operating the piston and cylinder devices 58 is re-set and all the jaws 53 are closed.

The effect of pacing the advance of the conveyor to the requirement of the toe and forepart pulling over and lasting machine where there are eight shoes within four cabinets of the intermediate section B of the conveyor at any one time is that each shoe is subject to the atmosphere within the cabinets for eight times the average operating time of the lasting machine. Thus each shoe is usually within the atmosphere of the cabinets for between 1 and 2 minutes on average. As mentioned already there is a variety of arrangements of lasting machinery with which the illustrative apparatus may be used. Where the operation upon a shoe immediately before its presentation to the illustrative apparatus is a backpart moulding and heel seat lasting operation then this method of utilizing the illustrative apparatus will be similar to the illustrative method with the exception that it is an already partially lasted shoe which is loaded onto a shoe carrier 40f the apparatus. Because the backpart of the upper is ideally still in a heated condition when the shoe is loaded onto the shoe carrier, strains imparted to the upper by the backpart moulding and heel seat lasting operation are not yet finally set and may therefore adjust slightly, if necessary, under the influence of the toeward draft applied to the forepart of the upper. Thus no creases or puckers are likely to be formed in the upper which may possibly be the case where the toeward draft does not pull side portions of the upper in a direction substantially parallel to that in which the side portions were pulled during the backpart moulding and heel seat lasting operation.

It will also be understood that where a back-part moulding and heel seat lasting operation has not been performed upon a last/upper assembly before it is loaded on to a shoe carrier of the illustrative apparatus, the next step in the manufacture after the assembly is unloaded from the carrier may be a heel seat lasting operation followed by presentation to a toe and forepart pulling over and lasting machine.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for preparing shoes for a lasting operation comprising a conveyor, 21 series of last carriers mounted in spaced relation on the conveyor, each carrier having a pincer mechanism for seizing a margin of a shoe upper mounted on the last of the carrier and a support for said last disposed to enable it by its weight to tension the upper when its margin is gripped by said mechanism, means for establishing a heated conditioning atmosphere through which the last carriers sequentially pass, and control mechanism ahead of and downstream from the conditioning means for actuating the respective pincer mechanisms, whereby successive conditioned shoes are prepared for lasting.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the conveyor is of the horizontal, endless type, the conditioning means comprises at least one cabinet for providing a heated atmosphere accommodating at least a pair of said carriers, and a drive means for stepping the conveyor to provide a dwell of the successive loaded carriers in said cabinet.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pincer mechanisms are respectively biased to closed positions, a manually controlled power means for shifting the individual pincer mechanisms to open positions for loading the uppers, and means for insuring that an upper previously loaded on a last carrier can not be released from its closed pincer mechanism by operation of said manually controlled means.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for establishing a heated conditioning atmosphere includes mechanism for circulating steam in the vicinity of each mounted shoe upper and more particularly directing steam to the locality of its upper portion being tensioned by a pincer mechanism.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each last carrier comprises a base secured to the conveyor, and said pincer mechanism comprises a two-armed lever pivotally mounted in the base, one of the lever arms being bifurcated to form spaced upper gripping jaws cooperative with the base, and the other of said lever arms providing a fulcrum support for the bottom of the last on the carrier.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim wherein said other lever arm is adapted to carry said fulcrum support adjustably spaced from said jaws in a direction lengthwise of the shoe.

7. The method of preparing a shoe for lasting comprising the steps of securing an insole onto the bottom of a last, positioning an upper on the last with its heel end portion snugly embraced by the closed back part sioned by reason of the weight of the last. 

1. Apparatus for preparing shoes for a lasting operation comprising a conveyor, a series of last carriers mounted in spaced relation on the conveyor, each carrier having a pincer mechanism for seizing a margin of a shoe upper mounted on the last of the carrier and a support for said last disposed to enable it by its weight to tension the upper when its margin is gripped by said mechanism, means for establishing a heated conditioning atmosphere through which the last carriers sequentially pass, and control mechanism ahead of and downstream from the conditioning means for actuating the respective pincer mechanisms, whereby successive conditioned shoes are prepared for lasting.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the conveyor is of the horizontal, endless type, the conditioning means comprises at least one cabinet for providing a heated atmosphere accommodating at least a pair of said carriers, and a drive means for stepping the conveyor to provide a dwell of the successive loaded carriers in said cabinet.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pincer mechanisms are respectively biased to closed positions, a manually controlled power means for shifting the individual pincer mechanisms to open positions for loading the uppers, and means for insuring that an upper previously loaded on a last carrier can not be released from its closed pincer mechanism by operation of said manually controlled means.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for establishing a heated conditioning atmosphere includes mechanism for circulating steam in the vicinity of each mounted shoe upper and more particularly directing steam to the locality of its upper portion being tensioned by a pincer mechanism.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each last carrier comprises a base secured to the conveyor, and said pincer mechanism comprises a two-armed lever pivotally mounted in the base, one of the lever arms being bifurcated to form spaced upper gripping jaws cooperative with the base, and the other of said lever arms providing a fulcrum support for the bottom of the last on the carrier.
 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said other lever arm is adapted to carry said fulcrum support adjustably spaced from said jaws in a direction lengthwise of the shoe.
 7. The method of preparing a shoe for lasting comprising the steps of securing an insole onto the bottom of a last, positioning an upper on the last with its heel end portion snugly embraced by the closed back part of the upper, mounting the last/upper assembly on a shoe carrier arranged to travel through a conditioning atmosphere to a lasting machine, and causing the upper as it travels thus mounted lengthwise during its travel, and during any dwell in said atmosphere, to be tensioned by reason of the weight of the last. 